South Africa - here we come!

World Shoppe (www.World-Shoppe.com) has the unique pleasure of visiting South Africa later this summer to work with artisans on some fair trade products. To say we're thrilled and excited would be an understatement.

While many of you already know how important it is to use your purchasing power to support your values (and I wish more people valued treating people with respect, dignity, paying them a fair wage to be able to eat, have shelter and allow children to go to school), it just doesn't work with way. Most people are more concerned, sadly, with getting the lowest price on products, even if that means that the people making those products are paid very poorly, or that children have to work rather than attend school.

The great news is that the shift is changing and more people than ever are asking questions. Where are these products made, how are they made? Are children producing them? Are people working in slave-like conditions? Is the Earth being considered either by using recycled products or in the facility where it was made? The more information we require, the more retailers will be held accountable - and they will hold their suppliers accountable, too.

Our trip to South Africa will be a wonderful opportunity to meet some of our artisan partners first hand, to learn what we can do better together to not only support our neighbors across the pond (and very large pond), but also to support centuries-old techniques and skills.

I hope to be able to blog about my experience regularly and to post photos of this amazing country while I'm there. Maybe I'll be able to post some pictures of fair trade items we'll be bringing back to the U.S., too! But, most importantly, I hope to bring back lots of wonderful, inspiring and lovely stories of the people I meet.

Thank you for being part of this journey with me as we all work together to make this world more just, exciting and fun to live in!

Until next time, thank you for supporting www.World-Shoppe.com and fair trade!

With warmest regards,

-Megy Karydes, Founder
www.World-Shoppe.com